Should you’re planning a visit to Wales, you then’ve come to the best place! On this information we’re going to share the whole lot it is advisable to know to plan the right Wales journey. That is primarily based on our experiences of touring in Wales and in addition my time residing in Wales, which I did for a few years. I used to be really born in Wales!

On this publish, we’ll cowl the most effective instances of yr to go to Wales, highlights to not miss, get round Wales, the place to remain in Wales, what to eat in Wales, e book excursions, and plenty of extra ideas that will help you plan the right Wales journey.

We’d counsel studying this information alongside our detailed Wales highway journey itinerary, which gives you extra concepts of a particular itinerary and sights to see.

Let’s begin with an outline of Wales.

A Fast Overview of Wales

Wales is a rustic with a inhabitants of round three million individuals. It’s a part of the Island of Nice Britain together with England and Scotland. It is without doubt one of the 4 nations (together with England, Scotland, and Northern Eire) that make up the UK.

Geographically, Wales borders England alongside its whole east coast, from round Chester within the north down to close Bristol within the south. The remainder of the nations border is made up of beautiful shoreline, principally alongside the Irish Sea.

The historical past of Wales is pretty complicated. Individuals have been residing right here for tons of of 1000’s of years, with steady habitation for at the very least 9,000 years. For the reason that Roman instances, many battles had been fought between the Welsh and the English as all sides fought for management over what’s current day Wales.

One of many unwanted side effects of all these wars is that Wales now has an enormous quantity of castles you’ll be able to go to which is nice as a vacationer. There’s additionally quite a lot of fascinating historical past and tradition which is exclusive to Wales.

Again to the current, and modern-day Wales exists as its personal nation with its personal language (Welsh) and, since 1999, its personal parliament. Nevertheless, there aren’t any border controls or something like that when touring from England to Wales (they’re each a part of the UK), and English can be after all essentially the most broadly spoken language.

If you’re not that conversant in the historical past of Wales, we will extremely advocate studying a e book on Welsh historical past earlier than or throughout your go to. This is not going to solely provide help to higher perceive most of the locations you might be more likely to go to in Wales (e.g., castles, museums, church buildings, Iron Age ruins), however it’ll additionally provide help to higher perceive the fashionable tradition and politics in Wales.

 

What’s there to see in Wales?

There’s a lot to see in Wales, one thing actually for everybody.

To start out with, with a lot historical past spanning 1000’s of years, Wales has an enormous quantity of cultural points of interest.

From iron age burial chambers to fascinating museums to distinctive cultural occasions just like the Eisteddfodd, there actually is a large quantity to select from.

In fact, the very first thing that doubtless springs to thoughts if you consider Wales are the castles, a aspect impact of all the varied wars over time. Wales has an enormous variety of castles, together with a variety of UNESCO listed medieval castles.

In actual fact, Wales has extra castles per sq. mile than another nation in Europe! Suffice to say, if you happen to like exploring castles as a lot as we do, Wales has no scarcity to give you.

Should you do plan on seeing quite a lot of castles, then we will extremely advocate choosing up a Cadw move. This consists of entry to an enormous variety of historic websites in Wales, together with most the castles.

You should purchase this on-line right here, or in individual at most Cadw websites. We discovered this saved us some huge cash on our most up-to-date journeys.

Lovers of the outside, like us, will even discover loads to do in Wales. There’s an enormous quantity of pure landscapes to discover, from beautiful coastal surroundings to stunning hills and mountains. It’s excellent for hikers of all talents. So whether or not you favor to wander alongside a stunning little bit of seashore or climb to the highest of a mountain, Wales has you coated.

Talking of seashores, with a lot shoreline, as you may think there are many seashores to select from. These run the total gamut, from stunning sandy stretches to these coated in pebbles. So if you happen to’re after swim or only a good stroll on the seashore, there are many choices for you.

All that pretty outdoor area additionally means Wales is a good vacation spot for wildlife. The variability in panorama and habitat means there’s quite a lot of totally different chook species you’ll be able to spot, and there are numerous nature preserves you’ll be able to go to the place you’ll be able to spot numerous varieties of chook and find out about them.

It’s extra than simply birds after all, with viewing alternatives for all types of wildlife, from seals and different marine life by means of to mammals, reptiles, and extra!

Lastly, Wales can be an amazing vacation spot for lovers of mythology. This must be apparent from the flag, which is emblazoned with a pink dragon, arguably the world’s coolest flag. Naturally, you’ll be able to be taught all concerning the mythology of Wales, from the origin story of King Arthur by means of to dragons and druids.

Total, we expect it’s honest to say that Wales just isn’t a vacation spot the place you’ll run out of issues to do!

 

Some Primary Info for Touring in Wales

Let’s cowl some primary info for touring in Wales.

Wales and the broader UK

Wales is part of the UK (UK), so after you have entered the UK then you’ll be able to journey out and in of Wales freely.

If Wales is your first level of entry into the UK (corresponding to if you happen to arrive into Cardiff Airport from exterior the UK), you then would wish to undergo passport management and have the proper visa and any mandatory documentation.

You’ll be able to see extra info on any required visas on your go to on the UK authorities web site right here or from your personal authorities’s official journey web site.

Should you arrive into one other a part of the UK corresponding to England or Scotland, you then don’t have to undergo any additional controls if you journey to Wales, be that by automobile, practice, or aircraft.

Attending to and from Wales

Wales is a straightforward nation to get to. By way of flights, the one business airport in Wales is Cardiff airport, which affords each native and worldwide flights to a restricted variety of locations.

Wales can be effectively served by regional transport connections from the UK. By practice, Cardiff is round 2.5 hours from London, 50 minutes from Bristol, and 4 hours from Liverpool.

North Wales locations like Conwy are round an hour by practice from Chester, or 3.5 hours from London.

You too can simply drive to Wales from areas across the UK. It’s round 3 hours by automobile to from London to Cardiff, 4 hours from Liverpool to Cardiff and seven hours to Cardiff from Edinburgh.

Wales can be served by ferry routes which hyperlink Wales with the Republic of Eire. So in case you are doing a visit like our two week UK itinerary, this is able to allow you to join between Wales and the Republic of Eire.

There are additionally a number of excursions that embrace Wales, departing from areas corresponding to London or Bristol. Extra on excursions in a while on this information. Suffice to say, you’ve got loads of choices for attending to and from Wales!

 

Language in Wales

Wales has two official languages: Welsh and English. Slightly below 20% of the inhabitants of Wales speaks Welsh, however just about everybody additionally speaks English.

Nevertheless you’ll nearly actually hear Welsh being spoken throughout your go to.

The principle method you’ll encounter Welsh as a customer is more likely to be on indicators. Most indicators are offered in each Welsh and English. Place names are additionally practically all the time written in Welsh.

Welsh is a fairly difficult language to be taught and the pronunciation is certainly not all the time apparent! Place names can simply journey guests up, though the excellent news is that almost all Welsh persons are fairly used to it.

Should you’d like to enhance your pronunciation, this can be a good starter information. information e book to Wales also needs to embrace a information to pronunciation.

 

Driving in Wales

Driving in Wales is similar as driving in the remainder of the UK, with the principle distinction being that almost all of the highway indicators are in Welsh in addition to English.

Should you drive in Wales, you’ll shortly be taught some Welsh phrases from the highway indicators, notably “Araf” which implies “Gradual”. Within the majority of instances although, indicators might be in each English and Welsh.

Apart from that, driving in Wales is similar as driving in the remainder of the UK. Drive on the left of the highway and remember to observe all pace limits and highway guidelines. Velocity limits are usually posted, with the nationwide restrict at 60 miles per hour and limits for built-up areas usually 20 to 40 miles per hour. You’ll be able to see extra ideas in my information to driving within the UK.

If you’re renting a automobile (examine costs right here), you’ll be able to drive the automobile between England and Wales with none points.

Remember that almost all of vehicles within the UK use a guide transmission, so remember to specify an automated if that’s what you might be used to driving. Simply notice that these do usually carry a worth premium as they aren’t as widespread.

Relying on the place on the planet you might be visiting from and the language your license is in, you might also want an worldwide driver’s license from the nation which points your driver’s license.

 

Public Transporation in Wales

Wales has a fairly good public transport community, with each buses and trains which hyperlink most of the cities and cities throughout the nation. You’ll be able to see the principle transport routes on the Transport for Wales web site right here.

For journey planning by public transport in Wales (and the UK typically), we advocate and use the Traveline web site. It’s a free service offered by a partnership of public transport operators within the UK, and can provide help to plan your journey between just about any two factors within the nation.

For almost all of public transport in Wales and the UK (particularly on longer distance routes) you’re going to get higher costs if you happen to e book on-line upfront. We advocate the trainline web site for practice and bus reserving, we’ve used them for years for our public transport wants within the UK.

Different choices to contemplate, particularly for lengthy distance bus journeys embrace Nationwide Categorical and Megabus.

 

Electrical energy in Wales

Wales makes use of the identical energy system as the remainder of the UK. It’s a 220v system which makes use of a three-pin plug (plug sort G).

Travellers from many of the remainder of the world, together with mainland Europe and the USA will want an adapter like this.

American travellers will even need to test their gear helps the 220v commonplace, because the U.S. makes use of a 110v commonplace. The voltage a tool helps might be written clearly on the facility adapter, often within the type of 110v – 240v.

In our expertise most trendy laptops, telephone and digital camera chargers, and different small electronics are common, while bigger units like hair dryers and hair straighteners will not be.

See extra on journey adapters and the way to decide on one on your journey in our information to the greatest journey adapters.

 

Foreign money in Wales

Wales makes use of the identical forex as the remainder of the UK, specifically Pound Sterling, or GBP (Nice British Kilos). Wales makes use of the financial institution notes issued by the Financial institution of England, so the forex in use in Wales appears to be like precisely the identical as that utilized in England.

Be aware that that is totally different to Scotland and Northern Eire, the place financial institution notes are issued by Scottish and Irish banks respectively. These financial institution notes can be utilized in the remainder of the UK (and Financial institution of England notes can be utilized in Scotland and Northern Eire).

 

Time Zone in Wales

Wales is on the identical time zone as the remainder of the UK, which is both GMT, or GMT+1, also called British Summer season Time (BST).

BST runs from the final Sunday in March by means of to the final Sunday in October.

 

Greatest Occasions to Go to Wales

You may be questioning when the most effective time to go to Wales is. While Wales is a year-round vacation spot, there are actually benefits and drawbacks to visiting at totally different instances of yr.

Greatest for Climate

Wales has a comparatively delicate local weather year-round with out great extremes.

If you need hotter climate and longer hours of daylight for sightseeing, then the most effective time of yr to go to goes to be from late Might by means of to mid-September.

This time of yr gives you the most effective likelihood of excellent climate and sunny days, though notice that rain and cooler temperatures are doable year-round.

The summit of Snowdon in summer time – good climate not assured!

 

Avoiding Crowds

Wales is a well-liked vacation spot, particularly for guests from different areas of the UK. There are a variety of huge English cities close to Wales corresponding to Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, and Manchester, and guests from these cities recurrently take journeys to Wales. It’s an particularly in style vacation spot for households.

Because of this, the busiest time of yr in Wales is usually going to be over the varsity holidays (college breaks) in England and Wales.

The precise timing of college holidays varies somewhat by space, however usually there are main holidays over the Easter interval, and over the summer time months from mid-July by means of to the top of August.

There are additionally “half-term” holidays which happen midway by means of every college time period and are usually every week in period. There may be usually one in mid-February, one across the finish of Might and one across the finish of October.

The most well-liked time for individuals to go to Wales is through the hotter summer time months, and through college holidays, particularly the Easter holidays, spring half-term, and summer time holidays.

Because of this, if you wish to go to Wales when it’s more likely to be quieter you then can be greatest served avoiding these instances.

Should you nonetheless need good climate, we’d counsel June or September to be optimum months, though April and Might can supply good climate if in case you have a little bit of luck in your aspect!

 

Greatest for Mountain climbing / Climbing Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa)

While you’ll be able to hike in Wales at any time of yr, we’d counsel that the most effective instances for climbing are going to be much like that for visiting for the most effective climate. So that’s going to be from late Might to mid-September.

No matter time of yr you propose to go climbing although, bear in mind that the climate can change in a short time. So you’ll want to be ready, guarantee somebody is aware of your route and the place you’re going, and pack appropriately. For extra info, this security information may be very useful.

The most well-liked hike in Wales by far is the hike up Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa in Welsh). You’ll be able to each hike and take a practice to the summit, each of that are in style choices.

In our expertise, Snowdon could be busy yr spherical, however the hotter summer time months are positively the most well-liked time to deal with the hike.

If you wish to keep away from the crowds on the hike itself, then we’d counsel avoiding the Llanberis path which tends to be the most well-liked, and taking one of many different much less in style routes such because the Snowdon Ranger path or the Rhyd Ddu path.

In fact, Wales has an amazing many extra mountains you’ll be able to hike, the vast majority of that are far much less busy and in style than Snowdon. A private favorite is Cader Idris, which additionally affords spectacular views throughout the Snowdonia Nationwide Park, and attracts a fraction of the guests!

 

Main Festivals in Wales

Wales performs host to a variety of festivals and festivals all year long, together with music festivals, meals festivals, literary festivals, craft festivals, artwork festivals, and extra (see a reasonably complete record of festivals in Wales right here).

The biggest competition in Wales is generally the Nationwide Eisteddfod of Wales, which is held for round every week on the primary week of August annually. The placement for the competition adjustments annually, and it usually attracts upwards of 100,000 guests. The competition celebrates Welsh tradition, with the occasions and actions all happening in Welsh.

Should you plan on visiting the Eisteddfodd (or another competition in Wales), you’ll positively need to plan effectively forward as lodging can e book out, and the world the place the occasion is being held is more likely to be a lot busier than traditional.

Conversely, it’s price being conscious when and the place festivals are being held even if you happen to don’t plan on attending them, so that you don’t get caught up within the crowds!

 

How Lengthy to Spend in Wales

As ought to hopefully be apparent by now, though Wales is a comparatively small nation, there’s a large quantity to see and do in Wales. You might simply spend many weeks exploring the nation with out operating out of issues to see and do.

Our suggestion can be to spend at the very least every week if doable to get a good suggestion of what’s on supply and to have time to discover among the nation’s highlights.

When you have much less time, say three to 5 days, then we’d advocate specializing in one space or area of the nation slightly than attempting to cowl an excessive amount of floor.

So, for instance, with three days you would possibly need to concentrate on visiting Cardiff and south-west Wales or discover a part of north Wales with visits to Caernarfon and Snowdonia Nationwide Park.

When you have every week or extra, then you’ll be able to develop your itinerary to cowl extra of the nation.

We are going to share some advised itineraries additional on on this information that will help you plan, and we even have a 7 – 10 day Wales highway journey itinerary it’s best to discover useful. That itinerary can simply be expanded to 2 or extra weeks.

 

The place to Keep in Wales

Wales has a variety of lodging choices throughout all budgets. Whether or not you favor tenting, glamping, self-catered lodging, family-run guesthouses, nation home inns or common inns, you’re going to discover one thing to swimsuit.

We’ve got stayed at an enormous vary of lodging choices throughout Wales, together with condo leases, guesthouses, mattress and breakfasts and inns. Normally we favor to both keep at a regionally owned mattress and breakfast or small lodge. However for longer stays, we usually e book an condo or cottage.

When searching for lodging, we advocate a mixture of the next websites:

• Reserving.com – that is often our first cease for all kinds of lodging varieties, from inns to visitors homes to flats. We just like the highly effective filter system that permits us to hone in on precisely what we would like in every location, in addition to the map software that lets us see totally different choices in several areas.
• Sykes Vacation Cottages – for longer stays in Wales (and the broader UK) we additionally use Sykes. They focus on vacation cottages, and we have now stayed at some actually pretty properties by means of their system.
• Vrbo UK – if we’re particularly searching for an condo or trip rental, we’ll additionally often look on Vrbo. They provide a wide selection of choices and it’s good to have a comparability.

If you want extra choices for lodging reserving in Wales and the UK, see our information to reserving vacation houses within the UK for some concepts!

 

What to Eat in Wales?

You may be questioning what meals it’s best to attempt in Wales if you go to, and if there are any uniquely Welsh dishes. Nicely, the reply is sure there are.

While there are actually quite a lot of similarities between Welsh meals and English meals, together with staples corresponding to fish and chips and the total fried breakfast expertise, there are some dishes which are widespread to Wales. Listed here are some to attempt:

• Cawl – one in every of extra conventional Welsh dishes, cawl (pronounced cowl) dates again to the eleventh century at the very least and is actually a stew made with meat, greens, and potatoes.
• Welsh Rarebit – while this sounds prefer it’s going to contain rabbit, this quintessential Welsh dish is definitely melted cheese on toast. There are variations on the recipe, with mustard or a bechamel sauce added to the cheese. Scrumptious nevertheless it’s made!
• Glamorgan sausage – this in style “sausage” is a standard vegetarian sausage primarily made out of leeks, cheese, and breadcrumbs. It dates again to at the very least the 18th century however rose in reputation throughout World Struggle II because of meat rationing and stays in style right now.
• Welsh muffins – this small cake is made out of dough, raisins, currant and candied fruit peel after which cooked on a griddle. It may be eaten scorching or chilly and is texturally extra much like a shortbread than a cake. We prefer it served scorching and eaten with butter!
• Bara brith – this fruit loaf is a well-liked choice to have with afternoon tea and is usually served with butter on it. It’s principally a fruit cake full of raisins, currants and dried candied fruit peel.
• Laverbread – This can be a very attention-grabbing delicacy, which regardless of the title, isn’t a bread in any respect. As an alternative, it’s a puree made out of a particular sort of seaweed which grows alongside the Welsh shoreline. The seaweed is cooked for hours to type the puree, which is then mostly served with bread.
• Welsh cheese – Wales is dwelling to many milk producing animals, together with cows, goats, and sheep. As such, there are various conventional Welsh cheeses to get pleasure from. Probably the most well-known is Caerphilly, which is a tough however crumbly white cheese. Others embrace Y Fenni, Tintern and Pantysgawn
• Native drinks – Wales produces a variety of native drinks, together with regionally brewed beers and ciders. There are additionally over 20 vineyards in Wales producing Welsh wine, and Welsh whisky is gaining popularity as effectively!

In addition to particular dishes, there are additionally many meals that Wales is usually identified for. These embrace Welsh lamb and beef, seafood, seaweed, and leeks, the latter of which is definitely the nationwide image of Wales.

If you’re going to be procuring and cooking throughout your time in Wales, you shouldn’t have any drawback discovering some native Welsh produce.

We will additionally advocate The Welsh Home for attempting quite a lot of Welsh meals. They’re in a couple of areas, together with in Cardiff close to the citadel. The final time we visited they’d a “Style of Wales” menu possibility which allow us to attempt quite a lot of totally different Welsh dishes for a really cheap worth.

Suffice to say, we don’t suppose you’re going to go hungry throughout your keep in Wales.

 

 

 

 

Easy methods to get round Wales?

There are fairly a couple of choices for getting round Wales, which we’ll undergo now.

By Automotive

Our most well-liked possibility for touring in Wales is to drive ourselves. Wales has quite a lot of points of interest which are somewhat off the overwhelmed path, and a automobile makes it lots simpler to succeed in these tucked away castles or hidden seashores.

That stated, you ought to be conscious that the highway community in Wales is primarily made up of normal two-lane roads slightly than multi-lane freeways (often known as motorways within the UK).

As such, journey instances can take a bit longer than in different elements of the UK. It’s troublesome to zip throughout Wales and journeys might take longer that you just count on from simply trying on the map.

This isn’t a foul factor, because the surroundings is usually pretty, and there are many issues to cease and take a look at anyway. Nevertheless, you’ll simply need to bear in mind when planning that even when the distances don’t look notably lengthy, it could actually take a little bit of time to get from place to put.

If you’re planning on touring by automobile and have to hire, we advocate evaluating automobile rental costs right here.

 

Public Transportation

As talked about within the part on public transport, Wales has a fairly good public transport community.

The principle factor to know in case you are planning to journey in Wales by public transport is that you just’ll positively need to plan effectively upfront. Additionally, you will need to bear in mind that it could actually take fairly a little bit of time to get between areas.

I’ve performed a good bit of journey by practice and bus in Wales, and while the surroundings is all the time very fairly, it could actually take some time to get from location to location. So simply bear in mind that in case you are on a restricted timetable, you will want to plan fastidiously in order to not spend all of your time sitting on a bus or practice.

It’s additionally price noting that while trains and buses join quite a lot of the nation, they don’t go completely in every single place. So if there may be someplace you actually need to see, do test to make sure you can really get there by the mode of transport you want to use.

Total, while you’ll be able to positively get round Wales by public transport, for folk on a restricted timeframe who need to see lots, we’d in all probability advocate both driving or taking a tour.

 

Best Locations to go to in Wales by public transport?

If you’re planning on visiting Wales by public transport, you may be questioning what the most effective areas are for doing so. Listed here are some ideas.

First, we’d counsel specializing in a particular area of Wales if you happen to plan on visiting by public transport, as you then’ll be capable of spend extra time sightseeing and fewer time touring.

Cardiff is a really well-connected metropolis, after which from right here you would simply discover alongside the south coast to Tenby and even St. David’s.

Alternatively, if you happen to’d favor to discover extra of the mountains, then head to North Wales. I’d advocate taking the practice line alongside the north coast from the English metropolis of Chester (or Liverpool), which connects to a variety of different practice and bus routes.

It will can help you discover many highlights of the area, together with Conwy, Bangor, Caernarfon, the Snowdonia Nationwide Park, in addition to the northeast shoreline together with Harlech and Barmouth.

You might simply make a loop by means of North Wales by public transport, going into Wales from Chester throughout to Conwy and Bangor, then heading south down the coast to Barmouth and Aberdovey, after which lastly east by means of Machynlleth to Shrewsbury.

This route will allow you to discover castles, see shoreline and expertise the mountains, all while not having a automobile.

 

Be a part of a Tour

The most effective approach to see Wales in our opinion, particularly if you happen to favor to not drive, is to hitch a tour. A tour lets another person deal with all of the logistics, from planning what to see and do to get from place to put.

You do lose a little bit of flexibility when taking a tour after all, as they often observe a set itinerary. That is notably the case if you happen to be a part of a bunch tour. A non-public tour will usually supply much more customization, with the draw back that they are typically costlier.

That stated, in our expertise most group excursions concentrate on the highlights that guests need to see anyway. Simply make certain when selecting a tour to make sure it visits the vast majority of sights and points of interest you actually need to see in Wales.

We’ve got some really helpful excursions of Wales within the part of this information on really helpful excursions. You too can see a spread of excursions by numerous suppliers at totally different worth factors and durations on TourRadar right here.

 

Greatest Guided Excursions of Wales

An effective way to see the highlights of Wales with out having to fret concerning the logistics of planning transport and lodging is to take a guided tour.

There are a variety of excursions to select from that go to Wales, of various period and worth.

The longer Wales excursions usually depart from London, Bristol, or Cardiff.

Some we advise are as follows:

• This 5 day highway journey with Rabbies can be our first decide of obtainable small group excursions of Wales. We’ve taken an amazing many excursions with Rabbies and we love their educated driver guides and small group sizes. This tour departs from London and covers most of the highlights of the nation, from Snowdonia all the way down to south west Wales.
• This 8 day tour from Cardiff follows an analogous path to our personal advised Wales highway journey itinerary. This tour consists of time in Cardiff, the Brecon Beacons mountains, Snowdonia Nationwide Park, Conwy Citadel, St. Davids, Tenby, and the Pembrokeshire Coast Nationwide Park.
• When you have much less time to spare, then this 3 day tour with Rabbies departs from Bristol and focuses on the highlights of south Wales, together with Carreg Cennen Citadel, Hay on Wye, St. Davids, Tenby, and the Pembrokeshire Coast Nationwide Park.
• That is one other 3 day tour with Rabbies which departs from Bristol and focuses on the highlights of North Wales. It consists of Snowdonia Nationwide Parks, Conwy Citadel, Harlech Citadel, the Slate Museum, and Portmeirion.

There are after all extra excursions to select from in Wales. See this choice from a spread of operators on TourRadar which can allow you to kind and filter by period, locations visited and worth.

 

Highlights in Wales

There’s lots to see in Wales, sufficient to fill many weeks of explorations. As it may be exhausting to determine what to see, we needed to share a few of our private highlights within the nation. That is not at all an exhaustive record, however we do suppose it covers quite a lot of what the nation has to supply.

We’ve divided it roughly into points of interest within the southern half of Wales (principally the whole lot south of round Aberystwyth) and the northern half of Wales (the whole lot north of Aberystwyth).

We expect this is smart as a result of in case you are on a shorter timetable you’ll want to concentrate on a extra manageable space.

If you’re fortunate sufficient to have extra time then you’ll be able to positively go to the entire nation!

 

South Wales Highlights

South Wales has lots to supply, from the cultural points of interest in and across the capital metropolis, by means of to the beautiful landscapes of the Pembrokeshire Nationwide Park the place you’ll find ample climbing and wildlife viewing alternatives.

This a part of Wales can be dwelling to historic burial grounds, stunning church buildings, castles, seashores, and extra!

Listed here are some highlights to contemplate including to your Wales itinerary.

• Cardiff Citadel
• Cardiff Museum
• St. Fagans (Nationwide Museum of Historical past)
• Castell Carreg Cennen
• Caerphilly Citadel
• Tenby
• Freshwater Seashore
• Whitesands Seashore
• St. David’s Cathedral
• Mountain climbing in Pembrokeshire Coast Nationwide Park
• Pentre Ifan Burial Chamber
• Amgueddfa Ceredigion Museum, Aberystwyth
• Elan Valley
• Brecon Beacons
• Hay on Wye

 

North Wales Highlights

North Wales is probably greatest often known as being the spectacular Snowdonia Nationwide Park, which is honest sufficient as it’s a actually stunning a part of the world.

Nevertheless, there’s tons extra to this area of the nation, from epic castles by means of to heritage steam railways and great seashores.

Listed here are a couple of highlights to contemplate including to your itinerary for Wales!

• Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways
• Caernarfon Citadel
• Beaumaris Citadel
• Conwy Citadel
• Harlech Citadel
• Mount Snowdon & Snowdonia Nationwide Park
• Nationwide Slate Museum
• Hen Watching within the Dyfi Valley & Coast
• Centre for Various Know-how
• Barmouth Seashore
• Aber Falls
• Portmeirion

 

Urged Itineraries for Wales

There’s a lot to see in Wales! We needed to share some advised itineraries for visiting the nation for various durations, so you’ll be able to profit from your go to.

In fact, your mode of transport will dictate precisely how far you’ll be able to go and what you’ll be able to see. If you’re counting on public transport, we’d positively advocate specializing in a smaller space so you’ll be able to spend extra time seeing sights and fewer time touring.

If you’re on a tour or in your personal automobile, you’ll doubtless be capable of match extra in.

 

1 – 3 Day Wales Itineraries

With one to 3 days in Wales we’d extremely advocate specializing in a particular space of the nation, corresponding to an space of south Wales or north Wales.

For instance, for south Wales you would possibly take into account spending a day in Cardiff after which a day or two exploring the Pembrokeshire Coast Nationwide Park, overnighting in St. David’s or the gorgeous coastal village of Tenby.

Another choice can be to concentrate on the mountains and castles of north Wales.

Basing your self in Caernarfon for instance would put you in simple attain of among the most spectacular castles in Wales, in addition to the hike or practice experience up Snowdon. You might simply spend an exquisite one to 3 days visiting castles, exploring seashores and climbing within the mountains of Snowdonia.

 

3 – 6 Day Wales Itineraries

With three to 6 days you’ll be capable of extra totally discover a area of Wales.

Once more, we wouldn’t essentially advocate attempting to see the entire nation on this time interval as it’d really feel a bit rushed. As an alternative, concentrate on a selected space and hone in on among the points of interest you have an interest in.

For instance, if you wish to expertise tradition and coastal surroundings, then we’d counsel beginning in Cardiff, working your method alongside the south coast, after which heading up in direction of Aberystwyth.

Alongside the way in which you’ll be capable of go to cultural points of interest, expertise stunning coastal walks and absorb a variety of castles.

Alternatively, head as much as north Wales. With a bit extra time you’ll be able to discover extra of this stunning a part of the world, from the peaks of the Snowdonia Nationwide Park to the UNESCO listed castles to the heritage steam railway traces.

We’d counsel basing your self in two or three areas, corresponding to Caernarfon, Porthmadog, Conwy, or Barmouth, and exploring from there.

 

6 Day+ Wales Itineraries

With greater than six days in Wales, you’ll be capable of discover from high to backside if you happen to so wished. We’d counsel a loop alongside the coast, beginning in Cardiff, heading out to the Pembrokeshire Coast Nationwide Park, then all the way in which as much as Snowdonia Nationwide Park and north Wales.

We’ve got a advised 1 week Wales itinerary (could be adjusted to 10+ days) for doing simply that with plenty of detailed info, which we expect you’ll discover helps you get round.

 

What to Pack for Wales

Wales, like the remainder of the UK, is a rustic the place the climate could be extremely variable. Rain is feasible at any time of yr, as are cooler temperatures.

So if you plan what to pack on your journey to Wales you’ll want to be ready for quite a lot of situations. Moreover, as quite a lot of the actions in Wales contain time spent outdoor and notably climbing, you’ll need to plan and pack accordingly to make sure you’re ready.

We’d advocate studying our information to what to pack for the UK as a basic overview, but additionally to recollect the next gadgets:

 

Additional Assets for Visiting Wales and the UK

And that’s it for our detailed planning information for visiting Wales! We hope you discovered this information helpful. We additionally needed to share some extra sources we expect would possibly provide help to with planning this and future journeys within the UK.

• We’ve got an in depth 7 – 10 day highway journey itinerary for Wales, with daily highlights, tips about the place to remain, and plenty extra.
• Should you’re searching for extra highway journey inspiration within the UK, we have now a two week UK highway journey itinerary and a one week UK highway journey itinerary. We even have a one week Cornwall itinerary
• Should you’re heading to Scotland, try our 2 day Edinburgh itinerary, our Glasgow and Loch Lomond itinerary, our information to the greatest day journeys from Glasgow, our information to issues to do in Edinburgh, our itinerary for Skye and the Highlands, our information to the greatest day journeys from Aberdeen, and our information to the most effective day journeys from Edinburgh. We even have a North Coast 500 planning information and North Coast 500 seven day itinerary
• Should you’re not conversant in driving within the UK, see my information to driving within the UK for useful ideas.
• We’ve got guides to many cities within the UK you’ll be able to try! See our guides to issues to do in Manchester,  issues to do in Stratford upon Avon,  issues to do in Bristol,  issues to do in Portsmouth, tips about a weekend in York, tips about Visiting Oxford on a Day Journey, and issues to do in Cambridge to get began
• Should you’re searching for a guidebook on your journey, try the Tough Information to Wales

And that’s it! Have you ever ever visited Wales? Do you’ve got something you’d add to the above? Simply tell us within the feedback beneath, and secure travels!